Staff at a popular zoo in Guanxi, China, have been accused of animal
cruelty and trying to swindle visitors, after it was revealed that they
had glued a basket to the carapace of a large tortoise so superstitious
people could throw coins in it.
Throwing coins at specific objects, from temple bells and statues to
airplane engines before a flight, is believed to bring good luck, but
this superstition sometimes crosses certain boundaries. Case in point,
this African spurred tortoise at Nanning Zoo, in the provincial capital
of Guangxi, that had a straw basket glued to its carapace for people to
throw coins into. Photos of the animal crawling around in its enclosure
with the basket sticking up went viral on Chinese social media and
attracted criticism both from animal lovers and those who saw the
gimmick as a way to swindle zoo visitors.
The shocking photos were posted on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter,
by a user named “Tea-tia” who said they were taken during the National
Day holiday. He criticized the zoo for using the animal to swindle money
out of visitors, and urged police, the media and the National Forestry
Bureau to investigate.
“I don’t know why the zoo would use this method to exhibit precious animals,” Tea-tia said.
A spokesperson for Nanning Zoo told Pear Video that management was
investigating the unfortunate incident, but had yet to release a
statement.
